Mass Effect: Ronin
by ArdanTheWolf
Summary: One of the most powerful biotic warriors in history must embark on a journey to save the galaxy from a threat that has destroyed the galaxy countless times. Rated M for language, violence, and explicit content in later chapters.


**An Extraordinary Man**

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Born to a small, loving family, Ardan Shepard was the definition of a prodigy. Able to move objects at one, create shields at two, teleport by three and perform singularity by five, he was known far and wide as one of the most powerful biotics in history. Having been able to throw vehicles since before he could walk, the child was raised on several different space stations, from military to civilian to research facilities.

If biotics was as simple as speaking to him, then using a weapon was like waving an arm. At ten years old, he was adept in the use of nearly every firearm. However, his true skill was in the art of swordsmanship. Able to "kill a man in five different ways before he touched the ground", Ardan was praised as a natural-born soldier before he was even a teenager.

The boy was also a genius, having built his own omni-tool and sword. The blade was made of normal steel, but had an Element Zero core that allowed it to do extraordinary things. For instance, it generated its own shield that made it practically indestructible and could vibrate at speeds that allowed it to cut through nearly any material like butter.

Despite all of the man's natural power and intellect, Shepard was known for his kind and brave nature. He was the type of person who would throw them self in front of a bullet to save a stranger. He valued life in a way that most didn't, but would not backdown from a fight. His love for people did not make him a pacifist, and the man could be cold at times. Anyone he viewed as a threat to himself or others was to be dealt with. Make no mistake, he would not murder a man for looking at him funny. However, if someone pulled a weapon on Shepard or an innocent, they would be either incapacitated or killed before they could pull the trigger.

One day, having been assigned to a small special tasks force, newly designated Commander Shepard was forced to fight for his, and several hundred colonists', lives on Elysium. During what would later be known to the galaxy as the Skyllian Blitz, Shepard lost his entire team. Civilians and soldiers alike watched as he, armed with no more than his blade and biotics, fought through entire batallions of Batarians almost single-handed. Once the Alliance arrived, and most of the enemy was wiped out, the people he had united and saved gathered around the commander.

Unlike some, who would bask in the glory, or others, who would reject it with anger, he simply nodded, and left for his ship. Once there, he was greeted by legendary N7 soldier, Captain Anderson. The man had an interesting proposition. Become a part of the crew of the galaxy's newest, best ship.

The SSV Normandy, SR1.

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**Six Months Later...**

"Impressed? Keeping my uniform in order is impressive. I just jumped halfway across te galaxy and hit a target the size of a pinhead! That's not 'impressive', it's incredible!" The helmsman of the Normandy was not happy with the compliment fromthe Turian Spectre, Nihlus Kryik.

"Calm down, Joker," teased Kaiden. "Any compliment from a Turian is great, no matter how _horribly _understated."

"Shut it, both of you," ordered Shepard. The commander was in his standard combat ware. Back in his days before the Blitz, he was more of a police officer than a soldier. Of course, he was a lieutenant under Captain Anderson, but spent more time fighting on his off time than during active duty.

Thus, his suit was far from the norm of an Alliance officer. It was a long, black tench coat with bright red trim. For simply aesthetic reasons involving his mother commenting on his sinister look, he added a hood to the coat. The commander took no shame in his sewing skills!

Anyway, underneath the coat was a chest piece with super-flexible, bulletproof bicep armor. His elbows and forearms were protected by enhanced shields which doubled as bracers to enhance his hand-to-hand combat. His legs were protected mostly by an enhanced, lightweight, flexible variant of kevlar which was highly illegal on most alliance worlds due to its popular use by gangs ad terrorists. Other, less badass elements of his outfit include combat boots and black, fingerless gloves. His pistols were strapped to his sides, easily concealed under his coat and the katana was sheathed on his back.

The most mysterious part of his complex outfit was a set of dogtags hanging from his neck that weren't his own. He never once revealed who they belonged to, not even the Anderson. He never allowed anyone a close look and kept them under his coat when close to people or in combat. All anyone knew was that he never took them off. Not even for a moment.

"Yes, Commander," said Jeff, defeated.

"Don't look so upset, Joker," teased the commander. "I'm sure that Nihlus was just so amazedby your incredible skills that he just couldn't find the words."

Joker looked back, attempting to see whether the statement was truth or sarcasm. Eventually, he just tirned back to his monitors, mumbling something about having a Krogan for a mother.

Shepard calmly walked away, through the bridge, and into the comm room. There, Captian Anderson and Spectre Kryik were reporting to the council. He leaned against the wall, waiting for them to finish their report.

"Gentlemen," interrupted Councilor Tevos, "you would appear to have company." The Asari pointed to the commander, who was nonchalantly browsing the extranet on his personalized omni-tool. Its best function, in his mind, was that a few days of hacking allowed him to do whatever he wanted onlinen without the alliance seeing a thing.

"Captain," greeted Shepard, not looking away from his omni-tool.

"Shepard," replied Anderson, before looking back to the councilors. The three aliens looked surprised at their newest Spectre candidate's appearance and demeanor.

"He certainly looks... different that I expected," commented the Turian Councilor, whose name edcaped Shepard. The only reason he even knew Tevos' name wqs because of all the fake, sexual videos and photos of her. In fact, he was currently comparing the images on the screen to those in real life.

_Wow. I think that one might be real. Save._

After seeing that he was completely uninterested, the captain and Spectre went back to their reports. A few minutes passed and the commander heard his name mentioned a few times. Eventually, the comm screen faded, replaced by images of Eden Prime.

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**I hope you've enjoyed the first chapter. I'll be taking this one slower and develop the characters a lot more. Updates should happen relatively frequently to make up for the length.**

**However, if something should go wrong and I am unable tp update, be patient. And call the police. And the ambulance. And the fire station. And the Power Rangers. And Morgan Freeman.**

**Especially Morgan Freeman.**


End file.
